Bigshrimp wrote:Cool I would imagine, though, that their real strength is in big dangerous game work? Similar to your avatar: bear, cougar, hogs, maybe moose?Tracking and then baying/treeing?? ...similar to coon hound work.Would this be a working ridgeback's strength?...or would you not want to choose any particular type of hunting and say their strength is in their versatility (i.e. big game, bird flushing, blood tracking, retrieving??)?

Tough to say. Not all dogs - not even all littermates - are going to be the same. But you can make some breed specific generalizations.

The best answer to your question is probably found in Section 1.2 of the HRA Regulations:

As for treeing... Rhodesians are great in that they will get to the tree before most of your other dogs, but once there, they do not make the best tree dogs. A good Rhodesian will tree, will open/strike a bit at the tree, and stay put on the tree, but they don't tree 'hard'. If you're going to hunt raccoons at night, you better hunt then with some more vocal hounds as well, or run a radio collar.

Where they really excel is in short to medium range scent tracking (any live game), ground baying, tracking and/or coursing wounded game, and as flushing bird dogs.

As for retrieves, most Rhodesians actually have a decent instinctive retrieve as puppies. If it is fostered and encouraged, they will continue to retrieve. But if you stop reinforcing it, they tend to lose it in maturity (though there are notable exceptions), and then you'll have to force fetch them. And you have to be careful with that. Like some lines of Brittany's, Rhodesians are actually very soft, sensitive dogs. A FF with them must be done extremely carefully or they will be ruined and shut down.